


Let me take care of you, baby

by slytherinharrison



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Child Abuse, Description of Injuries, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Hurt Billy Hargrove, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-14 06:04:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20595935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slytherinharrison/pseuds/slytherinharrison
Summary: People always assumed that Billy got into fights over girls or when he was drunk. Nobody thought about how it could be his dad who put those bruises there. Steve thought the same as everyone else. He didn’t question it until Max got a call and asked him if he could take her to the hospital. And that was when Steve got it. When he saw Billy lie unconsciously on the hospital bed, his body covered in more bruises and cuts than he’d ever seen before, several bones were broken and hooked up to various machines.Billy gets beaten up by Neil and what started as Steve driving Max to the hospital slowly turns into something more.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this tumblr post I made a while ago:  
https://a-friendly-slytherin.tumblr.com/post/187440851513/it-is-really-sad-how-people-always-assume-that

Steve was babysitting the kids at the Wheeler's house. For free! But if he was being honest with himself, he didn't mind it that much. This way he wouldn't sit alone at home and the children were really growing on him.

The phone rang and Mike rushed over to it. “The Wheeler's house, this is Mike.” He nodded a couple of times and then turned around. “Max, it's Hopper, he wants to talk to you.” Max looked confused. “Me? Why?” Mike shrugged his shoulders. “He didn't say.” Max stepped up to him and took the phone. “Hello?” By now, all attention in the room had shifted to her, even Will and Dustin looked up from their D&D campaign. “Uh-uh. Okay. Thanks.” Max hung up and turned around slowly. She was shaking slightly and had tears in her eyes. “Steve, can you take me to the hospital?” Steve was getting worried now, he's never seen Max this emotional. “Of course.” He thought about asking what was going on but then decided against it.

They didn't speak during the drive. Steve was speeding a bit and ignored the small sniffles from the passenger's side. He was going to kill Billy for upsetting her this much. Because there was no way this wasn't about him. He always got in trouble. Steve had seen him covered in bruises more often than not throughout their last school year. He probably stuck his dick somewhere it didn't belong and got into a fight because of it. But given Max' state, Billy had to be quite injured. The guy had a mean swing, whoever managed to hospitalize him, Steve wouldn't want to cross them.

They arrived at the hospital and Max rushed into the lobby, asking for her brother, as Steve had expected. A nurse gave them the directions to the emergency room. They had to wait for a while until a doctor stepped up to them. “Are you here for Billy Hargrove?” Max nodded and jumped up. “We've just transferred him to the intensive care unit, where he'll have to stay for at least another two to three days, depending on his recovery. He's relatively stable now and we believe that he'll make it. We had to operate him on his injuries in his chest, abdomen and throat. He has four broken ribs and two of them were close to punctuating his lungs, but we could prevent that. He had abdominal internal bleeding and is getting transfusions now. His left wrist is broken too. His whole body is covered in bruises, but it's the worst on his throat. He was also cut there, but gladly, it wasn't very deep and none of the arteries were affected. His vocal cords, however, were slightly injured. We believe that the damage isn't irreparable, but he won't be able to speak for a while once he wakes up. I gotta be honest here, this is the worst case of domestic violence and child abuse I've ever seen.”

Steve felt like something heavy hit him. The lights seemed brighter and the doctor's voice was far away. Child Abuse. Suddenly, all the pieces fell in place. Domestic violence. How had he never realized this? It seemed obvious in retrospective. The bruises on Billy's face were always excused with fights, but nobody ever knew with whom and nobody else in school had looked beaten up. And the times when Billy had skipped basketball with a shitty excuse, Steve could see remnants of what looked like nasty bruises in the showers after the next practice.

He was pulled up by Max and followed her, deep in thoughts. He reckoned that they were allowed to see Billy now. Steve wasn't sure if he wanted to. The description of his injuries alone had made him slightly nauseous already. But if Max had to go through this, he would be there with her. Billy was her brother, for him he was just... Hargrove.

They stopped in front of a room and Max hesitated. Steve took her hand without thinking and squeezed it. She gave him a thankful look, took a deep breath and opened the door. Billy really wasn't a pretty sight. The left side of his face was bruised and swollen, the skin had broken in several places. His throat was mostly bandaged, as was his left wrist, but the skin that they could see was also bruised and scratched. He was hooked up to several machines and got infusions, but at least he was breathing on his own.

Max stood frozen in the door and stared at her brother. “We don't have to go closer if you don't want to.”, Steve said as soothingly as he could manage. But Max shook her head and walked slowly forwards, never letting go of Steve's hand. “Oh, Billy”, she whispered as she lay her free hand on his right forearm, one of the few barely injured areas. She began sobbing now and Steve pulled her into a hug. “It's my fault.”, she said after a while, her breath still coming out shakingly and uneven. “I could've gotten help. I knew it was going to happen eventually.” Steve stopped her right there. “Don't do this to yourself. The only one to blame here is your father, okay? You don't have anything to feel guilty for!” Max nodded slightly and untangled herself from Steve. She sat down in a chair next to Billy's bed and took his right hand again. Steve took the other chair and they sat in silence.

They stayed like that for a while, until there was a knock on the door and Hopper stepped in. Steve turned around, but Max didn't move, her gaze still transfixed on Billy. “Max? I have to talk to you about some things.” Hopper came in and sat down on the other side of the bed. “I'll only ask the most pressing questions, okay?” He looked over at Steve. “Do you want to be alone for that?” Max looked up for a second and answered: “No, he can stay.” Hopper cleared his throat. “Alright. We've arrested your father. We are still investigating the crime scene, therefore you can't go home right now. El suggested that you could stay with us for a while? Your mother will live in a hotel for the next couple of weeks, you could go to her too, of course.” Max sniffled and Hopper handed her a tissue. “I'd like to stay with you.” The police chief smiled gently. “Okay. You don't have to answer this right now, but if you could, it would be really helpful: Do you know what could've caused this?”

Max looked down on Billy's hand and shook her head. “Normally it's when he feels disrespected by Billy when he didn't obey him or forgot to call him sir. It would be like this if he brought home bad grades or was late. Sometimes it was nothing at all.” Hopper nodded. “Thank you, Max. It doesn't look like he just snapped, though. We are treating this case as an attempted murder right now. We are quite sure that Neil tried to kill Billy and would've succeeded if your mother hadn't called us. She doesn't know the cause either because she had just come home when it happened and your father won't talk. Hopefully, we'll know more once Billy wakes up.” Steve spoke up for the first time. “He won't be able to talk for the first weeks of recovery.” Hopper cursed. “Well, we'll have to investigate further or wait in that case. Neil is not going anywhere, there is no way he would get away with all we've got on him. Especially since Billy didn't fight back. Do you want to stay for a while longer, or shall I take you home?” Max let go of Billy's hand and mumbled “home”. Steve stared at Billy's unconscious body for another second and then turned back to the police chief, who was almost at the door already. “I can take Max here tomorrow. If you're busy, sir.” Hopper nodded. “I will be, that would be great, Harrington, thanks.”

Steve looked back to Billy after the other two left, now illuminated by the light of the setting sun falling through the window. He felt sick. Bits of the things said before were floating through his head. 'Injuries on his chest, abdomen and throat', '4 broken ribs', 'internal bleeding', 'wrist broken', 'cut on his throat', 'child abuse', 'attempted murder'. Steve groaned and shook his head, hoping to get rid of the thoughts. He stood and looked down at Billy again. He reached out to him but stopped when he touched his forearm lightly with two fingers. “I'm sorry”, he said into the silence of the room, knowing that Billy wouldn't hear him.

He turned his music up on the drive home, but it didn't help to keep the thoughts about Billy and Neil away. He barely slept that night.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve stopped by the school on his way to Scoops Ahoy and managed to talk to Dustin. He told him to tell Max that he would pick her up after his shift. Steve was happy to go to work for once. Robin was the closest to a friend he had, a friend his age at least, and there really wasn't anyone else he could talk to. His parents were away, as always, and he couldn't put this burden on the kids, they probably had their hands full looking after Max. He was on good terms with Nancy and Jonathan, but not on good enough terms for this shit. So Robin it was. He told her everything and she listened and promised not to tell anyone. It wasn't a very busy day and their shift was over faster than ever. Steve picked Max up and they drove to the hospital again. They spent about an hour there, during which a doctor came in and informed them that Billy's was recovering as fast as they hoped he would and that he would probably wake up the next two days and then could be transferred to a regular room.

They repeated that routine the next day. It was during their third visit when Billy twitched. Max shouted happily. “He's waking up! Steve, he's waking up!” Steve jumped up to get a doctor. It took him a moment and when he returned, Billy seemed to be fully awake and was being hugged by Max. His eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Steve. They looked at each other for several seconds, until Billy turned his attention to the doctor who began telling him about his injuries. Billy nodded in between to show that he understood and soon they were left alone again. Max rambled on about how worried and sorry she was and what was going to happen to Neil.

After a while, Billy began to scan the hospital room and suddenly gestured to a small desk in the corner. Steve turned to it and saw a notepad and a pen positioned on it. “You need this?”, he asked Billy, holding the pad up. Billy nodded and he gave him both items. Billy struggled a bit with it, due to only having one hand and not even his dominant one, but he managed to draw a symbol on the pad. It was a dollar sign. “Oh god!”, Max exclaimed. “I didn't think of that! They aren't going to kick you out before you're fully healed if we can't pay them, are they? We'll get a loan and...” Steve interrupted her. “Don't worry about it, I'll pay for it.” Max looked at him with gaping eyes, while Billy had a murderous expression on his face that Steve was already used to from him. “You would do that?” Steve nodded. “It's not as if my parents couldn't spare it.” He turned to Billy. “I'm doing it for Max. She didn't deserve any of this, neither of you did, so please don't make this difficult.” They stared at each other until Billy broke the eye contact, which Steve took as permission.

Max continued to tell Billy about staying with El and Hopper and her school day. After a while, a nurse entered the room and politely asked them to leave for today because Billy would need to rest. Billy slightly rolled his eyes as if to say 'I rested for the last three days', but he did look quite exhausted. Max hugged him carefully and he gave her a little smile. He even nodded at Steve when he murmured a 'Bye'.

The next day followed the routine of the ones before. Waking up, breakfast, working and telling Robin everything about Billy, picking up Max and returning to the hospital. Hopper wanted to visit too since he heard that Billy was awake and hoped to find out more about Neil's motive. He arrived half an hour after Steve and Max, who was telling her brother about her day.

“I understand that you probably don't want to think about this now, but is there a way you could tell us what caused the attack? It's the last piece missing from our investigation, apart from your statement.” Billy nodded and held his right hand out. Max gave him the notepad from the nightstand and he began to write. He handed it to Hopper a short while later. Steve could read one word on it: 'GAY'. Hopper stared at it for a second and then asked Billy carefully: “Did he find it out that day?” Billy nodded with a defeated expression. He held his hand out again and Hopper gave him the pad back. Billy added two words. “Ask Heather”, Hopper read aloud. “Who's Heather?” “Billy worked with her as a lifeguard, they're friends. Have you talked to her?”, Max asked. “No, I didn't know that she might have any information for us.” He turned to Billy. “Thank you, I'll pay your friend a visit now. See you later, Max.” Max murmured a goodbye and continued to talk to Billy. They had to leave soon too, due to Billy's prescribed rest.

The next day, Steve and Robin had to fill in their shifts for the upcoming months. “Let's take late shifts.” Robin shot him a funny look. “You hate working late. I'm not complaining though. Means I can sleep in and visit the pool over noon.” Steve snorted. “Why would you want to do that?” “I found out my crush works there.” Steve rolled his eyes. “You mean that girl you saw here once and wouldn't stop obsessing over ever since?” Robin hit his shoulder with a rag. “Hey! Anyway, her name's Heather and she's a lifeguard. Her shift is at noon.” Steve turned around. “Heather?! That means she's Billy's friend who knows why Neil attacked him!” He told Robin everything he found out the day before. 

“I feel kinda bad for him, you know. Now that he is awake more, he must die of boredom. I mean, he can't speak, he can't use both hands and he only has visitors for one or two hours a day. So I thought, I could take late shifts and visit him in the mornings. The investigation is almost finished, so Hopper can take Max to the hospital in the afternoons, or she can take the bike. Maybe Heather will visit him then too if she really works over noon.” He looks at Robin expectantly. “Awww, that's really sweet, Harrington. But do you really think he'll let you help him?” Steve snorted. “It's not as if he has a choice, right?”

When he dropped Max off at Hopper's place after visiting Billy that day, he asked the police chief if he could get access to the Hargrove's house. “I thought he might need a couple of things that we could bring him.” Hopper agreed to meet him at the house the next afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit short, but the next one will be up tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed it so far!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter features a softer Billy. I like to believe that he and Max could actually get along without the constant threat of Neil. I skipped some periods of time and stuck to the most important action and I hope it doesn't seem too rushed, but I know better to start a longer project when I still have to write an exam and a term paper ugh.
> 
> Anyway, the next chapter will be up tomorrow and I hope you enjoy this one!

Steve entered the house that was still a crime scene. There was police equipment scattered everywhere and you could see small spots of dried blood on the floor and walls. Steve felt sick again. Max had given him instructions on what to get from Billy's room because Hopper didn't want her to see the house like this. Steve quickly walked down the corridor to what he thought must be Billy's room. It looked far more normal than Steve had imagined. It was actually quite nice. He got some of his clothes and put them into a bag, along with a walkman, cassettes and a couple of books. He hadn't thought that Billy was the type of guy who reads.

They returned to Hopper's and Steve took Max to the hospital from there. Billy actually seemed delighted upon seeing his belongings. “You're allowed to change into your own clothes now, so we brought you some. Oh, and Steve has some of your books and music.” Billy watches him with an expression that isn't hostile for once. “Uhh, yeah.”, Steve answered awkwardly. He put the objects on the nightstand next to the notepad. The room was silent for a moment until Max asked hesitantly: “Uhm, Billy? I wondered if you maybe want me to wash your hair.” He looked surprised. “Yeah, I know you showered today, but it's probably difficult to wash the hair with only one hand. I thought you might feel more comfortable that way.” Billy smiled slightly and nodded. Steve and Max helped Billy to sit up and Steve got a bucket filled with water.  
Max dipped a cloth into the water and used it to wet Billy's hair. After that, she washed it with shampoo and did her best to rinse it out again. Billy looked quite contend afterwards and briefly took her hand to thank her.

The next month came soon and Steve would work late and have his mornings off. He asked himself if it was a stupid idea to visit Billy on his own, as he drove to the hospital. Billy was awake when he entered the room, but he didn't notice Steve. He had his headphones on and looked out of the window. He realized that he was not alone when Steve stepped closer to the bed, so he took his headphones off. He seemed surprised to see Steve alone, but not dismissive.

“Uhm, hi! I thought I'd drop by, look how you're doing.” Billy raised his eyebrows and almost looked amused. Steve looked through the room to hide his embarrassment. His gaze fell on the books he brought. “Do you want me to read to you?” Billy's expression turned incredulous. Steve could hear almost hear him say 'You can't be serious'. “Well, it must be uncomfortable for you to hold a book like this”, Steve argued. Billy held his gaze for a second, then shrugged and nodded. 'Why not.'

Steve took the first book from the pile on the nightstand. It looked very worn out like it has been read a million times already. “What's The Picture of Dorian Gray?” Billy looked as if he was close to laughing. “What? Didn't think you'd be into this classic literature shit.” He opened it and saw an inscription on the first page. 'Property of Leia Hargrove'. “It was your mom's.” Billy nodded. He took the pad and wrote 'her favorite'. After a second, he added 'she loved books'. He was getting better at writing with his right hand.

From then on, Steve read to him every day and he was very surprised, but he enjoyed spending time with Billy, enjoyed the way his eyes lit up when he entered the room. They had somehow become friends over the weeks of Steve reading and talking to Billy. Even though Billy couldn't really answer, Steve had gotten to know him a little bit too. He watched the expressions on Billy's face closely and soaked up every little smile. He loved every amused eye-roll Billy gave him when he told him about his day looking after the kids. He enjoyed the way Billy really listened to him when he talked about something serious for once. And Steve was afraid. Afraid that he'd lose this once Billy was up on his feet again, afraid that this fragile friendship wouldn't last without the medication cocktail in Billy's blood and if he'd had other options of company again.

Of course, Steve was glad to see Billy get better, but a selfish little part of him would miss this once it was over. The routine of visiting him every day and being awaited by Billy was really nice. This was how it must feel to come home to a family, Steve mused. He returned his gaze to Billy. The bruising on his face was slowly fading and he had lost a lot of weight and muscle mass. It made him look smaller and much closer to his actual age than usual. And despite being bound to a hospital bed with no other company than Steve and his little step-sister, Billy seemed more at peace than ever.

Steve became aware that he'd just stared at Billy for what felt like minutes and cleared his throat awkwardly. He looked down to the book but had no idea where he had stopped reading. He was still trying to figure that out when he heard a weird noise. A croak, barely recognizable as a word. “Steve...” Steve's head snapped to Billy and he could see him trying to pull himself up. “No, no, no, wait, let me help you with that!” Steve rushed to his side and supported him under his arms. He took a glass of water from the nightstand and helped Billy to bring it to his lips and take a couple of gulps. When he set it down again, he rested his hands back on Billy's shoulders and watched him both worried and excited. “You did it! You spoke! Did it hurt? Remember what the doctor said, don't push yourself too hard...” “Shut up, Steve”, Billy said without any bite behind the words.

They stared at each other for a moment and Steve was so happy to hear Billy's voice again that he barely registered how close their faces were. Billy leaned in slowly, giving Steve enough time to back away. But he didn't and so Billy pressed their lips together in a soft kiss. Steve let his hands slide up to the other boy's neck and kissed him back. They broke apart and Steve pushed Billy gently back onto the mattress. He looked up at him nervously, but tried to overplay it.”You're quite chatty, you know that?” Steve laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

Surprisingly, not much changed between them. Steve continued to read for Billy, talked about his day, but now, Billy could make sarcastic comments about it instead of just rolling his eyes. When they were alone, Steve would often hold Billy's hand while he was reading. Often, he would kiss Billy before leaving.

They hadn't talked about it so far. Steve knew that Billy was gay and he's had his own bi-freakout a year before. He really liked Billy and didn't want to pressure him into anything, especially after he was almost killed by his own father because of his sexuality. But there was something important to talk about: Billy was finally well enough to be discharged soon. Of course, he had to come in every couple of days for check-in, but at least he didn't have to be in the hospital overnight anymore. Which left the question where he was going to stay.

Steve was sitting on the edge of the bed and stroked his fingers through Billy's hair. The younger one's eyes were closed and he had a blissed-out expression on his face. “Billy?” A low hum. “I was thinking after you're discharged... where are you gonna stay?” A small crease of worry formed of Billy's forehead. “Dunno.” It was silent for a while. Steve didn't want to overstep any of Billy's boundaries. “Okay, so I was wondering... would you maybe like to stay with me?” Billy's eyes opened and he sat up a little. “What?” Steve could feel his heart sink. “It was just an idea, you don't have to, obviously, you could go back to Max and Susan, or Hopper, he would never say no to looking after you for a while...” Billy interrupted him with a deep and hard kiss that left them panting once they broke apart. “You'd really do that for me?” “What?”, Steve asked a bit dumbly, his mind still a bit empty from the kiss. “Ohh, yes, of course.” Billy looked down on his hands and smiled almost shyly. “Well, in that case, I'd really like that.” Steve couldn't believe his luck. The boy he was falling in love with was going to move in with him. Steve pulled him into another kiss.

A couple of weeks later, Billy was finally completely settled in at Steve's house. He had thought about leaving a message about it on his parents' answering machine, but they probably wouldn't hear it anyway, so he didn't bother. He and Billy spent a lot of time at Hopper's because Max still hung out there a lot and the police chief liked to have an eye on Billy's recovery. It turned out that El and Billy got along really well. There was still a lot about that strange little girl that Steve didn't know, but there seemed to be some mutual understanding between her and Billy.

Billy had his own room in the house, but they always slept in one bed. Steve had been too afraid to ask, he was still worried about going too fast for the other boy, but on the first evening, Billy simply slipped under the covers with him and cuddled up to him. Nothing more than some heavy makeout sessions happened though because Billy's body was still too injured. Not that he cared, but Steve would take no risks.

Steve was discussing his plans for the day with Billy when it happened. “...and maybe Robin could come over for a couple of hours, she's dying to meet my boyfriend.” “Boyfriend?”, Billy asked. Fuck. “It's how I've begun to think of you. Is that bad?” Billy shook his head. “No, of course not.” He chuckled, but his facial expression was slightly sad. “I simply wouldn't have thought you'd take this so seriously. I thought you'd go to college soon and this would be over as soon as I could live on my own again.”

Steve took his face in his hands and made him look him in the eye. “Billy, I love you. I'm not going to college anytime soon and I'm sure as hell not leaving here without you.” Billy's eyes were wide and he stared at him. After a couple of seconds, he whispered: “I love you too.” Steve pulled him into a hug and they stood there embracing each other tightly. Steve knew that Billy thought of himself as unlovable sometimes and he would do anything to change his mind. After a moment, Billy pulled away and kissed him. The kiss was deep and slow and full of passion. Soon, they were full-on making out on Steve's sofa, bodies moving against each other. “Please don't say no to sex”, Billy pleaded. “You know what the doctor said, baby.” Billy grinned. “Baby?” “You called me nicknames for over a year, it's my turn now,” Billy whined. “At least a blowjob? Handjob? Please?” Steve rolled his eyes and murmured in Billy's ear “Then lay still and let me take care of you, baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! I hoped you enjoyed this small fic!


End file.
